Cary Fagan

A graphic novel that tells a refugee story about education and hope

A True Story

Maurice and His Dictionary

Briar's Reviews

Maurice and his Dictionary is a haunting yet intriguing non-fiction, historical tale.

Maurice's family is fleeing from Belgium during World War 2. This story is their journey about how they escaped and how they settled in Jamaica. Maurice wants to be a lawyer and is working really hard to try to not only do well in school but to make sure his own life is safe.

The tale is tough to read as an adult, but I think it's a good introduction to history for younger readers. If you're teaching about the war, this could be used as an educational source. This is a graphic novel, but I could see this being used for middle schoolers and high schoolers to see a different version of the events from someone else's eyes instead of just their textbooks.

The back of the book has a picture of Maurice's family (the author's Father is Maurice) and has some wonderful pictures and documents to put a face to this story. It's really cool to read and really sad at the same time. 

The illustrations and their dull colours give some really interesting effects to the story. This book is not meant to be the happiest book (it's based during war time), so the dull colours in certain pictures really hit home with the tone. It's nice to see colour theory being used in this story, even if it's for sad effects.

Overall, I think this is a very powerful and moving story! If you like non-fiction, historical books or graphic novels, this is a unique read!

Five out of five stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and OwlKids for sending me a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Maurice and His Dictionary A True Story

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